DJ advice...

[guidew]

Ok well so far I DJ'd 2 parties and I run into the same problem so I am gonna see what you guys have to say.

I normally start at 11 and for the 1st hour or so I play rap/R&B/old stuff, some slow beat stuff and then at 12 I step it up with a good top 10 list as well as reggaeton, and reggae as well. I will also throw in a good 1/2 hour of club stuff to make sure everyone is happy. The last 1/2 I am running dry (2am), most people come and ask me to repeat songs which I hate to do but now that they are drunk they can dance to it. Any good ideas of how you spread the music out through-out the night...?

[deepspell]

sorry cant help ya, i only stick to one format of music....dont take requests either...

PM Kaydup, hes really good at this type of format

[guidew]

Do you just do "club" music? (Club meaning all genres of house, trance, etc) Or do you spin rap/r&b/reggae?

[deepspell]

yea just club music.....

[kaydup]

thanks for the PM, my advice is stop spinning

[guidew]

thanks for the PM, my advice is stop spinning

Wow great help..thanks for nothing. Ill go else where

[kevtherev1]

Ok well so far I DJ'd 2 parties and I run into the same problem so I am gonna see what you guys have to say.

I normally start at 11 and for the 1st hour or so I play rap/R&B/old stuff, some slow beat stuff and then at 12 I step it up with a good top 10 list as well as reggaeton, and reggae as well. I will also throw in a good 1/2 hour of club stuff to make sure everyone is happy. The last 1/2 I am running dry (2am), most people come and ask me to repeat songs which I hate to do but now that they are drunk they can dance to it. Any good ideas of how you spread the music out through-out the night...?

11pm-2am??
You cant come up with 3 hours of good music???i

[eKiTeL]

well if you want to spin more dance tracks just go to the records store and spend a few hours listening to the records there and pick some that fit with what you already have and then you can extend your set

[guidew]

well if you want to spin more dance tracks just go to the records store and spend a few hours listening to the records there and pick some that fit with what you already have and then you can extend your set

Yea thats what I started to do, but where I DJ people just like the top 20 songs are so, so at the same time i am trying to expand there lets say horizon.

[sdeelite]

Yea thats what I started to do, but where I DJ people just like the top 20 songs are so, so at the same time i am trying to expand there lets say horizon.

These type of people unfortunately will never want to be schooled on music. Best way to do things is to start off mellower and slower in the beginning of the nite and wait to drop the bombs (or in your case the more popular top 40/hip pop tracks) at around 12:30 and on.
Use big tracks from back in the day as well as the newer stuff (this goes for regaton/dancehall and hip hop). You don't have to play all recent stuff as long as they are tracks they'll get excited about (like Fatman Scoop for instance or Murder She Wrote).
I have a feeling the ppl you play for don't care about house or that kind of dance music unless it's an R+B house remix or something (which can work great in between to break it up a bit).

I myself am a house DJ but am forced to sometimes play for ignorant crowds such as this...that formula seems to work. Also that crowd never minds repeating of songs which KILLS me, but if you need to fill up towards the end of your set, that's probably what you'll have to do.
3 hrs is not a long set at all, so if you still don't have a lot to work with in that time, I suggest trying to expand your record collection on all fronts so you do have enough to work with.

[guidew]

These type of people unfortunately will never want to be schooled on music. Best way to do things is to start off mellower and slower in the beginning of the nite and wait to drop the bombs (or in your case the more popular top 40/hip pop tracks) at around 12:30 and on.
Use big tracks from back in the day as well as the newer stuff (this goes for regaton/dancehall and hip hop). You don't have to play all recent stuff as long as they are tracks they'll get excited about (like Fatman Scoop for instance or Murder She Wrote).
I have a feeling the ppl you play for don't care about house or that kind of dance music unless it's an R+B house remix or something (which can work great in between to break it up a bit).

I myself am a house DJ but am forced to sometimes play for ignorant crowds such as this...that formula seems to work. Also that crowd never minds repeating of songs which KILLS me, but if you need to fill up towards the end of your set, that's probably what you'll have to do.
3 hrs is not a long set at all, so if you still don't have a lot to work with in that time, I suggest trying to expand your record collection on all fronts so you do have enough to work with.

Thanks for the great responce, I am actaully watching a DJ on here and how he works with sets granted that crowed is a lot better then what I have to work with but I like how he puts his music out there.

I am starting to expand my music collection as you stated but his suggestion also was to drop those "bombs" rendomly durring the night to keep them goign and then at the end last hour drop that top 40 to make them keep going. I wish this corwd liked more then just rap and hip hop.

I played born to be alive remix (Disco Kings) hoping they would remmeber that song from way back when but they all looked confused as to what is this. Also a lot of girl like it but guys where i am cant dance for shit besides almost "f##$@" on the dance floor. Its pretty sad if u ask me.

But thanks again for the suggestions!!

[sdeelite]

Thanks for the great responce, I am actaully watching a DJ on here and how he works with sets granted that crowed is a lot better then what I have to work with but I like how he puts his music out there.

I am starting to expand my music collection as you stated but his suggestion also was to drop those "bombs" rendomly durring the night to keep them goign and then at the end last hour drop that top 40 to make them keep going. I wish this corwd liked more then just rap and hip hop.

I played born to be alive remix (Disco Kings) hoping they would remmeber that song from way back when but they all looked confused as to what is this. Also a lot of girl like it but guys where i am cant dance for shit besides almost "f##$@" on the dance floor. Its pretty sad if u ask me.

But thanks again for the suggestions!!

Poor souls, those people. They wouldn't know good music if it hit them in the face.
Yeah they're too young to appreciate any real old disco and r+b...that won't work with them. The oldest you can go hip hop/r+b wise is early 90's. Anything before that will get a no dancing...or no "f##$@" dance floor as you put it. Hehe.
Good luck in any case.

[guidew]

Poor souls, those people. They wouldn't know good music if it hit them in the face.
Yeah they're too young to appreciate any real old disco and r+b...that won't work with them. The oldest you can go hip hop/r+b wise is early 90's. Anything before that will get a no dancing...or no "f##$@" dance floor as you put it. Hehe.
Good luck in any case.

Mind u this is at frat parties. Funny thing was the guys said i suck and the girls liked it...lol

[moe03]

If you're playing for a lame, drunk crowd, play anything they want. That stupid, drunk bastard will have the biggest smile on his face when you do and you'll be treated like a god when you do.
Otherwise, for a more musically, knowledgeable crowd, put yourself into it and what you like. Educate them by playing from your heart and don't be afraid to whip out the funk whether back from the 70's or funky house music of today.
I remember I once played James Brown's, "The Big Payback" and I never saw white people get down so good.

[djmadness]

Here is my advice for you. From a house DJ that has specialized in most styles of house for over fifteen years. Find a speciality and stick to it, make a name for yourself by being known for playing a certin style of music and doing it well. If you are going to be a hip hop & R&B DJ then be the best at just that. If you are going to be a house DJ then pick a style and know your music. There is nothing wrong with being a jack of all trades, but you need to have a speciality. As for running out of music before the night is over, the only advice I can give is to go record shopping every week. Most suppliers release new tracks every tuesday and thursday of the week. If you do what I do then you will have all the new hot shit as well as tracks that you missed out on because you weren't DJing at the time or you just overlooked it to begin with. Every week I hit up my favorite record shops website and see new tracks came in. I usually buy about 6 to 8 tracks a week, four or five new and three or four old. Or if it's a bad week for music I just search out tracks that I either overlooked or never knew about till then. There is a lot of tracks that I hear that I don't know the names of that when I find out what it's called I go on a hunt for. The only way you you can avoid repeating tracks is by having a good selection of music on hand.


Hope that helps.



Madness